You might have studied many diets for weight loss but diet supplements are not one of them. There is no record or study to prove that herbal and dietary supplements help manage our weight or weight loss for a longer time. Read on to know more about the benefits of herbal and dietary weight loss.

As stated by the combined findings of two systematic reviews in which all herbal and dietary supplements are introduced for weight loss for more than 15 years.

No evidence could prove that these dietary supplements can help with weight loss said lead author Erica Bessell, a Ph.D. candidate from the University of Sydney in Australia.

She further stated that some items showed promising results but they require a warrant for further research in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to find their safety and effectiveness.

She also stated that several products have been marketed for weight loss but they do not work.

Herbal and dietary supplements may be a quick solution to weight problems but people should be aware of how little they learn about them. Erica asked people to save their money and look for evidence-based care instead.

Herbal and Dietary Weight Loss Supplement Industry Crashing

Nowadays weight loss supplements gained popularity, swiftly expanded in the business sector worldwide. The herbal and dietary supplements industry estimated the value of $41 billion in 2020, and 15 % of Americans tried weight loss supplements.

Reviews for Herbal Supplements and Organic Compounds

To cover the huge number of tests examining supplements for weight loss, scientists performed two systematic reviews, and they presented collectively 121 randomized placebo-controlled trials. One of the reviews analyzed herbal supplements and other investigated supplements consist of organic compounds such as particular fibers or lipids.

Several trials were published in the last decade but they had not been included in the latest systematic review.

Bessell stated that several pieces of research were terribly designed or had a small sample size, These studies contained incomplete information about the composition of supplements and often highlighted a little information on long-term efficiency.

These two reviews examined the efficacy, instead of safety because several researchers didn’t submit unfavorable effects.

The first review was published in Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism in the previous year. They examined 54 placebo-controlled randomized trials till August 2018 about the effect of herbal supplements on weight loss. 4331 participants were examined (age 16 or above), who were obese or weights. People require 12 weeks or less to lose at least 2.5kg.

Herbal supplements that were used for examinations were green tea- Garcinia cambogia and mangosteen (tropical fruits), African mango; yerba mate (herbal tea made from the leaves and twigs of the Ilex paraguariensis plant); white kidney bean; ephedra (a stimulant that increases metabolism), ); licorice root; and East Indian Globe Thistle (used in Ayurvedic medicine) and veld grape (commonly used in Indian traditional medicine).

In the second review, they examined 67 randomized trials till December 2019 in which they compared the effect of dietary supplements which consist of natural isolated organic compounds to placebo for weight loss. This examination was conducted with 5194 individuals who were obese or overweight and their age was 16 or above.

Additionally, meta-analyses were practiced for glucomannan, chitosan, fructans, and conjugated linoleic acid, compared the weight difference post-intervention among participants while taking the dietary supplement or placebo.

No Clinically Proven Evidence

Explaining over outcomes, Bessel said, many supplements may be safe to use in the short term, but very few were discovered to produce clinically effective weight loss. These reviews discovered some supplements which may provide clinically meaningful weight loss with 1 or 2 trials but more studies are needed.

The first review based on herbal supplements discovered that with an average weight difference of 1.61 kg (3.5 lb), Phaseolus vulgaris ( aka white kidney bean) provided significant weight compared to placebo.

In isolated organic compounds, chitosan provided weight loss with a mean difference of 1.84 kg (4 lb), conjugated linoleic acid at 1.08 kg (2.4lb), and glucomannan at 1.27 kg (2.8 lb).

None of these findings meets the exact weight loss requirement which is a weight loss of 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) or more.

Bessel stated that other dietary supplements such as cellulose showed positive results. She also revealed that some supplements are not authorized in some countries including ephedra.